Exclusive:Kirk moderator: Religious people should not be 'excluded' from assisted dying debate

The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has said the Kirk should be commended for reviewing its long-standing opposition to assisted dying.

The Rt Rev Dr Shaw James Paterson said it was a "very positive sign" the Church was prepared to grapple with the big issues facing society. It came as he insisted religious people "cannot and should not" be excluded from the debate.

Rt Rev Dr Shaw James Paterson, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland | John Devlin

The Kirk is opposed to assisted dying, but this position is under review, with a report due to come before the General Assembly in May.

In an interview with The Scotsman, Dr Paterson said this would be a “very interesting and emotional and moving debate".

He said: "I think it's a very positive sign for the Church that the Church is prepared to take these big issues. Perhaps historically the Church didn't look at issues, because they just assumed that's the historic stance of the Church. I think the Church is to be commended for looking at this issue and debating it."

Dr Paterson added: "It's OK to have a different opinion to someone on this issue, because it is such an emotive and personal thing. And we've all got relatives that we look back on and say 'their death was very painful, their death was uncomfortable'.

"But we need to try and find, as a society, the way forward where we can respect each others' opinions."

Dr Paterson said he had personal concerns around the safeguards in place. "We talk about safeguards for doctors and nurses and so on, but I'd also like to make sure that there are safeguards for the people working in care homes, for instance,” he said.

“We need to make sure that all the boxes are ticked that need to be ticked, and we need to make sure that we have actually thought of all the boxes. Because there are so many issues that come from this legislation. It's quite a change - it's quite an emotive change."

A bid to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales has cleared its first hurdle in Westminster, while separate legislation is making its way through Holyrood.

Last month, a row erupted after Lord Falconer, a Labour peer and ally of Sir Keir Starmer, said Cabinet ministers should not “impose” their religious beliefs on others in their objections to assisted dying.

"I think everyone has a view on just about every issue that's discussed in the political realm, and I think the world, society or politicians need to listen to everyone's view,” Dr Paterson said. "And not everyone within the religious position may come to the same conclusion over a particular thing.

"But I think society cannot and should not exclude people's opinions simply because they come from a religious perspective."

He said census figures showed almost half of Scots had a "religious belonging", adding: "So it's quite a sizable proportion of people that, if you turn and say ‘we're not going to listen to religious viewpoints’, you're excluding almost half of society from making an opinion on the matter."

Dr Paterson was elected moderator of the General Assembly in May. He holds the honorary role for a year, during which he acts as an ambassador for the Church of Scotland.

Elsewhere, he said data showing the decline of religion in Scotland "did not come as a surprise" to the Kirk. For the first time, the 2022 census showed a majority of Scots are not religious.

A total of 51.1 per cent of respondents said they had "no religion", up from 36.7 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, the number of people who say they belong to the Church of Scotland has plummeted by more than one million since 2001.

In 2022, 20.4 per cent said they belonged to the Church of Scotland, down from 32.4 per cent in 2011 and 42.4 per cent in 2001. However, the Kirk remains the largest denomination north of the Border.

"The census figures didn't come as a surprise to us, because we were anticipating a drop in membership,” Dr Paterson said. “But sometimes I like to turn the question round a little bit, and say isn't it quite remarkable in today's society that almost half of the population are of faith, and would put in the census form that they are people of faith? So it is still quite a significant number within the population. 

"And the Church should always be working, not with a view to deal with the numbers, but always working to make sure that the Gospel is being spread and shared. 

"One of the things that the numbers do not convey is the amount of people that the Church - and all faith groups are involved in this; it's not just the Church of Scotland - connects with, whether it be through food banks, whether it be through opening up their premises for warm spaces, whether it be providing facilities. 

"The Church interacts with a huge number of people in their communities, and they do it because they care for the communities. We don't do it just to get numbers in on a Sunday morning. We do it because we care for the folks that we're serving in our community."

Dr Paterson added: "I wouldn't be doing this job if I didn't think there was a future - and a good and a strong future - for the Church. Because the Church is very much part of my life.”